Communicating with the World of the Spirit

In yesterday's Blog I told Meridith that Christians (and Jews, I might add) have always believed that the Word of God is the way by which God communicates with us. That is to say, the Word of God is the means by which He makes His will known to us.

The phrase 'Word of God' has a dual meaning among us:

• It refers to the sacred or holy writings. To call the writings 'holy' is to say they are separate and distinct from all other writings. They are set aside for God's purposes. In the N.T. that word is used only twice, once in 1 Corinthians 9:13 where it refers to those who handle sacrificial offerings and work in the Temple. Theirs was a very distinct job, different from all others. The other place is 2 Timothy 3:15-17 where the Apostle calls the Scripture—the O.T. Scripture at that moment—holy. In other words, these are distinct and separate words, set aside for God's service. I won't discuss here which writings of the O.T. are or are not considered God's holy Word. My only point is that Christians have from the beginning considered these Scriptures as God's Word, His way of communicating with us.
• Word of God also refers to Jesus. This concept is lifted up especially in the Gospel of John, for instance John 1:1-18; 6:63-68; 10:27-30. Jesus is the Word of God and the words he speaks are the words of eternal life. He is God's living, personal Word to us. He spoke and continues to speak through his life, his teachings, his sacrifice upon the cross and his glorious resurrection from the dead.

We could go into much detail here about the meaning of inspiration. I won't. Suffice it to say that Lutherans, together with the ancient church, emphasize that God deals with us exclusively by means of his external Word and sacrament, e.g. the Lord's Supper. Everyone who boasts of receiving communication from God's Spirit apart from this Word is of the devil (Smalcald Articles 8:9-13)


In that sense it must not surprise us that other religions have retained the idea or concept that their gods who dwell in the spirit world are ready and willing to communicate with men through symbols and words. Words are, after all, nothing less than symbols put together in a wide variety of ways to convey ideas, concepts, thoughts and feelings. Why should the 'gods' not use them to speak?

Thus the runes, for instance, were viewed by the Norse, Celtic and Germanic peoples as sacred or holy, because through them the gods spoke. So those ancient worshipers—and their modern counterparts—held that the runes are a way to both discover the will of the gods AND to use spiritual power to heal or bring spells upon men, animals or plants. They even talk today about scientific magickal technology!  Supposedly, with the proper understanding of how to use the runes you can discover the future, weave spells, wield power and gain wealth.

We Christians are very wary, therefore, of the use of such symbols, symbolical actions and 'sacred' words by those who have not been reborn by the power and work of the Holy Spirit to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. Paul says that such faith comes from hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10:1-17).


We flee from Tarot cards, OuiJa boards, special charms, mediums, wizardry, seances and all other such things. Moses, speaking for God, strongly warns Israel away from such practices so common among the heathen in the land they were about to occupy (Deuteronomy 18:9-14).


In all these matters we are dealing with demons and demonic forces. Against them, without the full armor of God and alone, we are helpless (Ephesians 6:10-18). Note in the Ephesians passage that the Apostle speaks about 'you' in the plural, not in the singular. When he says "so that you will be able to resist" he speaks about you in the plural. We never go up against demonic forces alone, but rather together, protected by God's armor and praying with and for one another.

Symbols Are Words Of Power

A young mother recently wrote to me with the following question about her pre-teen daughter. I have changed the girl's and Mom's names. My response follows the question.

"Lily has been reading about religions of the world. She wants to be informed as she has friends practicing other religions and we are making sure Christianity is given equal time.  She is using the attached as screen savers.  There are more images from www.Godchecker.com she has put up that look like the Nazi SS symbols on your Gods of the Third Reich blog.  Lily assures me they have nothing to do with Nazism, but Nordic Gods are listed on the websites she has been studying.

"I can't find the other images she put up and had to try to paint the one on the screen (above). These are strange times and the searches all began because of her interest in Greek Mythology.

"Am I being overprotective or is there a connection with the symbols I should be concerned about? Thanks so much for your expert opinions. "

Dear Meridith,

No indeed, you are not being overprotective and there IS a connection between the images and the religion. Christians and non-Christians have always recognized that. This is one of the reasons why the LORD was so concerned about how his people might use symbols. He strictly warned them not to make carved images or likenesses to worship or serve (Exodus 20:3-5). They must not have any other gods, because there is no other. Those who would make themselves out to be gods are rebel spirits, fallen angels. They long to be worshiped, adored and served. That is part of their rebellion.

You mention the Nazi's use of runic symbols. I commented on the power of runes in my Gods of the Third Reich Blog—"Nazis and Runic Symbols."

 "Runes were always considered symbols of great power. The word rune itself means 'mystery'. This was especially true when reading and writing were not common, so the ability to represent ideas in symbolic form was a mystery to most. Thus these symbols became a means of communication between the seen and the unseen, between the visible world of men and the invisible spirit realm, the realm of the gods, the mighty ones.

"In the view of this and other nature religion, everything is divine and alive. The Spirit and the spirits are everywhere. So the Nordic or Germanic priests and priestesses used the runes to divine or read the messages of the spirits."

In view of these facts, teach Lily that symbols all have power within them. The word 'symbol' comes from a complex Greek word of two words that together mean "to throw together." What is being thrown at Lily is a concept, an idea, a meaning—whether she knows it or not. A whole complex of meanings and ideas accompany every symbol. The symbol and the meaning go together. They cannot be separated. The Nazis knew that. That's why they emphasized their use as they openly and purposely sought to replace Christianity in Nazi Germany and throughout Europe. And they did a good job of it.

Let me use a common symbol found throughout the world. What meaning does this symbol have? What does it communicate? What do you think about or feel whenever you see this symbol? Why is the company that owns it so protective abut its use?  They know of its power to get you to think about their product, to remember how it tastes and to desire some more of it.

This is but a small example of the power of symbols—in the secular world they are called 'logos', a Greek word that means word. And remember that every word we write or create is a symbol that points beyond itself to an idea, concept, image or feeling.

In my next Blog I'll discuss in more detail the use of symbols as a means of communication between the visible world of men and the invisible spirit realm. 

Creating Reality With Words

We viewed the latest Bruce Willis flick, Surrogates, last night. While the movie had the usual shoot-em-up and save the world plot we've come to expect from Willis, I cannot say I was very impressed. I walked away with ten questions about how the plot does not hang together.

Anyway, what got me going is how this relates to the work of a novelist. We do not have access to the technology to simulate a world that allows users to interact with that environment. Most current virtual reality environments are primarily visual experiences, with some advanced ones offering added auditory and even tactile information. In Willis's Surrogate world all senses are engaged as the surrogates interact in place of the humans, who remain safely on a couch in their homes receiving feedback.

So what does the writer have to work with? Words, only words. We create words in endless combinations so as to evoke a response from you, the reader. We use words to take you into this reality that we are creating. We depend upon your imagination and your experience of reality to evoke an emotional response.

Consider the following excerpt from my next novel, Freya's Child. It is a crisp fall night, shortly before midnight. We are deep in the woods of northern Minnesota, watching Hulda, the Wiccan Priestess perform a mystical rite to call forth a response from the gods. What is your response to the scene?

At the final circle on the west Hulda drew a fourth pentacle and  paused, searching the darkness of the forest. “Give me the heart and liver,” she commanded. 

Al unfolded the bloody leather pouch and handed the organs to her. His hands were sticky from the congealed blood on the organs and their pouch. The smell nauseated him. With the heart in her right and the liver in her left, she resumed her previous keening. Her shrill voice echoed through the woods and bounced back from the lake. Higher and higher rose her singing until Al thought his head would burst from the sounds entering his ears. Again he fell to his knees, trembling so violently he could not control his limbs. Tears poured from his eyes and spittle from his mouth. 

Suddenly a large black shape appeared at the edge of the clearing. It was a bear, undoubtedly the one to whom the cave belonged. It growled and moaned and growled again as it rose on its back feet to a height of eight or more feet. Al could see huge, wretched claws extended from the great paws, but was frozen where he was. At some level he was aware he was soaking his pants with his own urine, but was completely unable to do anything about it. 

The bear advanced toward the motionless Völva. As it approached she stopped her shrill singing and fell to her knees to place the deer’s bloody organs in the middle of the circle. The bear dropped back to all four feet and padded silently to the circle. In two swift gulps it devoured first the heart and then the liver. Then, licking its chops, it made a strange moan as it came nose to nose with Hulda. She did not move. After a few seconds, the animal backed away and bent down to grasp the deer rump with its powerful jaws. Whining, it turned away from Hulda’s circle with the deer meat in its mouth, padded to its cave and disappeared into the inner darkness.

As I said, all we have to work with are words.